The Problem of the Day

Volume X - Sufi Mysticism

THE PROBLEM OF THE DAY

The Need of Religion

Every man is born on earth with a certain object to accomplish,
and the light of that object has been kindled in his soul.
The day when he finds out his life's purpose he is stronger,
more successful; his life becomes easier, he feels inspired,
and a greater power pours out through him. And as a man
develops spiritually, so there comes with the fullness of
his soul a time when his service to the world and to humanity
is a sign from the higher Spirit.

Those who have come at different times to the world to
enlighten humanity and to awaken souls from their sleep
of ignorance, have come from one and the same source. And
although they are different souls there is but one spirit
in them and thus all that they have given to humanity is
the same in essence. By studying the scriptures deeply and
with sympathy, not only intellectually, one will find in
Christianity, Islam, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Hinduism,
and Buddhism, in all these religions which have been followed
by millions for ages, that in spite of having different
outer forms, they all have one and the same inner sense.
The inner teachings of Buddha are the same as the teachings
of Krishna, although their followers may deny it. And so
will the others; each one will say that the faith of the
other is different from his own. This separation has always
existed and still exists. It can only be removed by the
understanding of the essence that is to be found in all
religions.

But one might ask, 'What about the different histories
of the great ones, the tradition of the life if Jesus Christ,
the history of Muhammad, the life and story of Krishna,
the legend of Buddha? They are all quite, quite different!'
Yes, they are different in appearance because they came
at different times and to different people. Muhammad came
to Arabia, Jesus to Palestine, Zoroaster to Persia, Buddha
to India. Because they have had to give God's message to
different peoples they have had to adopt different terminology
and different expressions. If there is any difference, it
is only in the way they have presented divine wisdom, and
not in the essence of divine wisdom itself.

Then people say, 'Yes, I can understand that all religions
have the same essence. But at the same time I believe that
one prophet is greater than another; please tell me who
is the greatest.' But who can tell who is greater? Apart
from the prophets, how can we even judge the greatness of
musicians such as Beethoven or Wagner; are we equal to any
of them? When we have a better understanding of their music
our lips close. Since there is but one truth there is only
one religion, and the different creeds which today appear
as many different religions or churches are only special
covers hiding that one truth which alone is the religion.

All through world-history there have been wars, for the
very reason that there were differences in faiths, that
certain people had faith in a particular creed or religion,
or in a particular community. But the truth has always been
one and the same. If the great masters such as Jesus or
Buddha and all the other great ones who have given a spiritual
message to humanity, had seen the Sufi Universal Worship,
it would have fulfilled their ideal. And it was their prayer
that one day the people of all the different religions might
witness this service which includes all the different faiths.
The Universal Worship, therefore, gives the promises of
a world form of worship.

Religion is the greatest need at any period in the past
or future. No doubt, the form of religion has changed according
to the evolution of man, for the form depended upon the
customs and ways of the country, and also on the psychology
of the followers of any specific religion. These changes
which were made in the different religions did not spring
from the intellectual part of man's spirit. There is another
part of man's spirit: the divine part; and the awakening
of that part raises a fountain, a fountain which is religion.
In the ancient history of India there are a great many examples
of men who were in the position of kings and rulers and
who wanted to introduce a new religion; but they never wholly
succeeded, for religion does not come from that source.
Its source is divine.

If truth and falsehood are distinct and different then
what is the difference between them? Truth is God and the
unreal is all this nature which we see before us. Therefore
all that is from God is real. No doubt man's mentality has
also played a part in religion, and every religion has come
colored by whatever mentality was expressed; but religion
itself is from the divine source. The outside may be different
but the depth is always the same. In this age it seems that
one has science on one side and politics on the other, and
education is aiming at supplanting religion. But nothing
can supplant religion.

There is a touching story of a scientist in France who
all his life did not believe or admit to any belief in God,
in the soul, or in the hereafter. But as he lived longer
in the world, he felt the need of religion, although he
did not feel he could accept it since all his life he had
not accepted it. His wife, on the other hand, was devout
and religious. One day, stirred by profound sentiment, they
were talking heart to heart on the question of religion.
The wife was anxious that he should accept it and she asked
him, 'Don't you ever feel the need of religion, of that
devotion which is the only thing that is worthwhile?' And
his answer was, 'I do not admit it, yet I believe in your
belief, I enjoy your sentiment. That is my religion, my
only religion in life.'

We do not know under what guise a person preserves his
religion. It may be hidden somewhere in his heart; perhaps
it does not show outwardly. No doubt, if no one were able
to express his religious sentiment there would be no communication
possible, and that is why it is very necessary in society
that we should communicate our deepest religious sentiments.